Hello!  I had the privilege to test the new extended size and cup range of the Fringe Blouse and Dress pattern by Chalk & Notch Patterns.  I say privilege because Gabriela has the most detailed, well written patterns.  I have made several Waterfall Raglans and a LOT of girls Waterfall Raglans but hadn't tried any of her woven patterns.  When I was offered the opportunity to test I jumped on it.  The testing took place right after Quiltcon so it was nice to get back to sewing immediately once I got home.

I have a rather large stash of fabrics so I dug deep and found this light blue floral polyester blend that has been in my stash for at least 10 years.  I washed it, hung it to dry and was able to cut the blouse out of 2 yards of 58" wide fabric.

  One of the things I love about Chalk & Notch Patterns are the attention to details in the directions.  They really walk you step by step and you never question what to do at any point, which is really nice when sewing up a style you haven't tried before.  I was afraid this fabric was going to be fussy to work with since it is really slippery but I never had a problem.

I chose to make View A as I liked the sleeve option and the front having the crossover button detail.  I cut out a size 18 C/D at the top and graded out to a size 20 in the waist.  I cut the bottom "skirt" out as a size 20.  The top portion fit perfectly but the waist was still a bit snug right at the seam line so I ended up letting out the four waistline darts just a tad (2 in the back and 2 in the front.)  Now the fit is more comfortable. Since I'm 5' even and the pattern is drafted for a taller gal, I shortened the upper bodice by 1" and think I could go a little more next time.  The length was perfect as is.  Other than that I changed nothing else with the pattern.

I am thrilled with the back of this garment, no pulling, it looks nice and feminine.  This blouse will be in constant rotation this spring for sure.

The updated Women's Fringe pattern is available now and on sale for a limited time.  Head over to Chalk & Notch Patterns where you can find the PDF to purchase.  I highly recommend the pattern and can honestly say it is very flattering on a variety of figures and sizes.  Gabriela wrote a very extensive blog post on all the updates and sizing information so if you have any questions you can find all that information HERE.

I feel like a clothing blog post can't be complete unless I have an out take.  I don't know if you guys remember the show, "My Name is Earl" but the main character on the show could not take a photograph without his eyes being closed and for some reason as an adult the same applies to me.  This photo shoot was taken by my husband and he took about 75 photos and SO MANY my eyes were closed and of course it is always the photo I love the most. HAHA oh well, so here it is.

I posted last week that I was scheduled to be on Pat Sloan's American Patchwork & Quilting Podcast on Monday, March 18, 2019 and I was!  Pat contacted me a few months ago and I'll honestly say I thought it was a mistake.  Who me?  Apparently it wasn't a mistake and yes indeed she did want to have a chat with me.  I filled out a "questionnaire" of sorts and then Pat turned that into a basic script for the show.  The segment was going to last 15 minutes and I knew basically what we would be discussing.

The afternoon of the interview I was extremely nervous as the show is live.  I wasn't worried about what I would say or what we would talk about but rather that my phone would drop the call or have cell phone issues.  Thankfully all the worrying was for nothing as my phone behaved itself.  A few minutes before the show Pat's producer called and informed me of what was happening.  Pat hoped on and we chatted briefly and then the music started playing.

I can truly say that it was the fastest 15 minutes of my life!  If you have ever met me in person then you know I can be quite the talker especially when it comes to quilting/sewing.  Mrs. Sloan is such a professional, she kept the conversation flowing and reined me in when I was blabbing too much.  We spent some time at the beginning talking about how I got into quilting, this transitioned into talking about the Finish-A-Long that I've been managing for the last two years and participating in since 2012.

I was thrilled to be able to talk about the FInish-A-Long and give it even more exposure.  We truly want you all to play along with us!  So I was just a chatting away and then Mrs. Sloan gives me the "we only have one minute left" and I'm thinking, "Are you kidding?  Where did the time go?" We didn't even get to chat about half of the stuff on the script!  Oh well, maybe next time, right? LOL

 That just about sums up the experience, it was really fun, just like having a chat with an old friend about a subject you could talk about forever.  No reason to be nervous and the best part is that I have this image (above) for forever proof that I was on a HUGE radio show and had my 15 minutes of fame.

Truly the best part is that it is recorded and you can listen to it now or later!  So if you have some time and fancy to listen to the show you can find my Episode 414 HERE.  If you take the time to listen, thank you and let me know what you think!

I'm popping in here today to share some exciting news...I'm going to be on the American Patchwork & Quilting Podcast on Monday, March 18, 2019!!!  The show will be available for you to listen on Monday after 6 pm EST on Pat Sloan's Blog HERE.  You can just open up her blog on your computer, turn the sound on and have a listen.  Not complicated at all!  You can also listen and subscribe via ITunes.

If you have ever been curious to hear my Southern drawl, then please check it out next week.  Hopefully I won't be too nervous as the show is live and you will quickly see that I can be quite the talker when it comes to sewing and quilting!